Torchwood: The Oncoming Storms
by DarqueQueen7
Summary: The Time War did not leave the universe as unguarded as many had thought. After Miracle Day, the Sentinels of Time have arisen to find formidable foes in The Families. For now they threaten the fabric of Space and Time - and Torchwood is called to action once more by spirits of the past armed with the power of oncoming storms...


_A/N: Hello B's & G's! Been a while – and I've really no excuse because this one has been written months ago and was languishing in one of my notebooks. I guess I felt it wasn't good enough….but tough! To understand The Sentinels a little better, please read my two short stories written for the Sherlock Holmes Movies universe **Marvels of a Predestined Future** and **Answers to a Predestined Future**. You can get to them from my Stories Page._

_So – this is out and proud – and before I go any further – RTD, Starz & BBC Cymru owns everything concerning DW and TW. The Sentinels twist though? All me, Baby…_

**Torchwood: The Oncoming Storms**

**Adventures of the Lost Sentinels of Time**

**Chapter One: A Bit of Ancient History and The Photographer **

_Ancient History…_

_During The Great Time War, every sentient being within the known universe went to war against the Daleks; including The Time Lords. And amongst the Lords of Time, there were also the Eternal Guardians. _

_There were three: The Black Guardian (who helped The Master escape), his opposite The White Guardian (who helped The Doctor make his terrible choice), and the Grey Guardian, who stood eternally between the two._

_The Grey went to war like the others, but left behind a contingency plan in the event the Daleks succeeded. The balance would not be lost – New Guardians would rise. They would not work for one side or the other, nor would they simply stand back and watch. They would be a mix of the three Guardians._

_Plucked out of Space and Time at the moment of their deaths, they would be trained to follow Timelines and make sure everyone ran straight and true. They would wield the powers of the Rifts and Schisms of Time as an Olympian wielding lightening. They would be Kissed by the raw power of the Vortex of Time… They would live forever…_

_And for a time…they would be lost…until it was time to be Found…_

The Photographer….

After the end of The Miracle Days, Gwen Williams moved back to Cardiff with her husband and daughter to be closer to her mother and friends. She thought of going back to Torchwood, but the loss of so many good friends was simply too much to bear. And even though Jack acted as if he had put it all behind him, his pain was still quite plain to see.

So she returned to the Cardiff Police again – and Jack re-opened Torchwood with Rex Matheson, the American ex-CIA agent – and the full support of The Crown. Her Majesty was quite put out by the heavy handedness of the Prime Minister and his Cabinet – and took steps to ensure it never happened again. Protocols that Harold Saxon had put in place to keep an eye on Torchwood were finally removed – and once again, Torchwood stood on its own. Jack hired a few others, a new Tech expert, a new Medic and someone to do Admin – but he kept Gwen out of it for Rhys and Anwen's sake. She became their Police Liaison. And that was how she came across the phenomenon of The Photographer.

No one knew The Photographer was; but at every main event of The Miracle Days, she was there. That peaked Gwen's interest further…that and the fact that The Photographer was a woman. Her face was always obscured by either sunglasses and/or a fedora hat and she would be dressed in a long tunic coat with a mandarin collar; black with green and gold threading brocaded at the throat, wrists and hem of the coat. She wore black trousers, a black long sleeved shirt and a black long waistcoat decorated with the same intricate brocaded threading that was on the coat. The cameras that she used varied: some would be high-powered, top of the line digital SLRs, others point and shoot digital cameras, a few digital video cameras, and even an old fashioned glass photo camera or two. She would stay for hours at a time looking for a specific target or person and would take pictures until she was satisfied – and then would vanish.

Checking on the Internet, Gwen found a few theories about the woman and possible sightings, but nothing in or around Cardiff – until that very day. A Twitter account dedicated to finding out the identity of "The Photographer" said she had been spotted around Mermaid Quay and the Millennium Centre. She started at that – a large End of Summer bash was being held in that very area. Jumping over to the CCTV terminals in the Police Administration Office, she pulled up the relevant recordings and watched as the person fitting the descriptions of The Photographer for almost one hour, then let the camera hang from its strap around her neck as she scanned the area. She was looking for someone – and Gwen spotted a second figure – a man wearing clothing similar to the mystery Photographer, except he wore a fedora hat and dark sunglasses that obscured his eyes completely. The more interesting feature on the man was a metallic half-mask that he wore on the right side of his face. She snorted suddenly as the mask reminded her of "Phantom of The Opera". 'I wonder if he can sing?' she asked no one in particular.

The timestamp on the recording was twenty minutes previous. She switched to the live feed and found the two were seated by the grandstand overlooking the Bay behind the Millennium Centre eating what appeared to be fish and chips. She watched as a few intrepid twenty-somethings approached the woman – and from the younger people's antics, Gwen knew they were telling her of The Photographer and asking if it was she.

The woman suddenly threw her head back and laughed – the young people joining her; then crowded closer and asked her companion if he would take their pictures as they crowded around with their mobiles, taking photos of their own and began texting. Gwen watched as a few Tweets went up on the page telling everyone that the sighting was a false alarm – complete with the pictures. But even as the impromptu reporters stated the sighting was false, Gwen felt something else was at work. Because the woman looked dead on like The Photographer. She turned back to the live feed and watched as the young people at the two on the stands as they walked away.

The man and woman continued to eat their meal calmly, not moving until the greased newspaper wrappers were empty. The woman turned to the man and said something; he then stood and offered his hand to her, helping her up. As they both walked to a rubbish bin in full view of the CCTV camera, the woman tossed the papers away as the man pulled a manila envelope out and taped it to the side of the bin. The woman then looked up into the camera crooking her finger in a come-hither fashion and mouthed the words "Hurry Up!" – as she and the man vanished.

o0o TWTWTW o0o

Gwen made it from the station to the rebuilt sconce in less than ten minutes. Looking around, she spotted the bin – and the manila envelope still taped to its side. Walking calmly through the crowds of people towards the bin, she pulled out her mobile phone and dialed a specific number.

'Sergeant Cooper-Williams,' Rex Matheson's cheerful, deep voice answered. 'Whatever can we do you for?'

She couldn't help the smirk that crept onto her face. 'Rex,' she drawled. 'You have been around Jack for far too long.' The smirk then broke out into a full-on grin as she heard Jack join Rex in laughing at her comment. It had taken so long for Jack to laugh again…

'I take it this isn't a social call,' Jack said over the line, breaking Gwen away from her suddenly maudlin thoughts.

'No,' Gwen sighed. 'Have either of you heard of The Photographer?'

'Yeah,' Rex answered. Gwen realized they had her on speaker. 'Saw something pop on Twitter, then it was called a mistaken sighting.'

Gwen smiled again. _How can an unidentified person be mistakenly identified?_ She asked herself. 'Yeah, watched the whole thing on CCTV and saw the posts on Twitter. Anyway, she and her companion left something for Jack.'

'Are you sure?' Jack asked. 'How do you know it's for me?'

'Oh,' she said airily. 'Just a hunch,' she continued as she pulled the package off of the bin. Across its front in dark block letters was written "CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS – TORCHWOOD". 'So – you two at mine for dinner then?'

A hushed conference went on over the other line then – 'Sure,' Jack answered. 'Simone and Tsung have night watch tonight. Rhys making lasagna?'

'With home-made garlic bread,' Gwen answered.

'Gotta love a Welshman that has Italian food down to an art form,' Rex answered. 'We're packing up now. See you there in a half-hour?'

Now Gwen laughed out loud. 'See you there.'

o0o TWTWTW o0o

Jack eyed the envelope as if an unfriendly alien were ready to jump out of it at any second. He, Gwen and Rex were in her back garden, the offending envelope laid out on a stump of an old tree that the previous owner thought would make a good patio table. Jack sighed then, and opening his Vortex Manipulator, scanned the object. 'Looks like there's an e-pad inside,' he said, hitting a few buttons and reading his tech's display.

'You gonna open it, or stare it into submission?' Rex asked. 'Rhys has some good food going cold inside.'

Jack sighed again. 'You're right,' he conceded, and, grabbing the envelope, tore it open.

In between two pieces of cardboard sat a black screened e-pad. Jack held it up and a low whine emitted from the pad as several lasers shot out of the device, scanning his face. Gwen and Rex yelped, pulling their weapons thinking it was an attack, but Jack's raised hand held them at bay.

_Identity confirmed_, a computerized female voice announced. _Begin message_. Jack set the pad back down on the wooden surface and the lasers shot of it again, only this time it created 3D images of the two people Gwen had seen via CCTV earlier.

'Captain Harkness,' the woman said nodding towards him. She then turned to Gwen and Rex. 'Sergeant Cooper, Mr. Matheson,' she greeted them. 'Forgive the theatrics, Captain, but this was the only way we could make sure we would make contact with you. We have vital information concerning The Families, sir. They have not gone to ground. There is a Plan B.'

Jack, Rex and Gwen all snorted at that. 'Tell us something we don't know,' Rex replied sullenly. 'Like who the hell are you?'

'They will hunt down your blood, Captain,' the man behind the woman said suddenly. His voice was metallic and partially vocoded; his face was also covered with a metal half-mask. Jack had seen work like that before – from the Cyber Division Wars of the 49th and early 50th centuries on Earth and a few of the outer worlds. 'And if they can't have your blood, then they will look to your children.'

'In answer to your question Mr. Matheson,' the woman began. 'We are The Lost Sentinels…of the Grey Guardian. I am called Sentinel Magellan. He,' she continued, pointing to her companion. 'Is called Sentinel Kon Pan-Tse.'

Jack looked to the two people in complete disbelief. 'It…you can't! The Doctor said only he escaped The Time Wars!'

'And yet, here we are,' Kon Pan-Tse answered demurely.

'How?!' Jack demanded. 'They all went to war! None survived!'

'We were snatched out of time and space and placed in stasis with a time lock. The Time arrived and we were awakened. Sentinels to a Guardian of Time billions of years gone,' Magellan answered calmly.

'"Out of time"?' Rex asked.

Magellan nodded. 'I am…from another time and place – as is Kon Pan-Tse.'

'Okay,' Gwen began, finding her voice. 'Time to cut the Cloak and Dagger shite. When are we going to meet?'

'How about now?' the male vocoded voice murmured with a hint of humor.

The e-pad then sat up on the stump and the 3D images projected themselves onto the grass and grew until the two people stood whole and solid before them. The woman was dressed as the description Gwen had read – and the man was dressed the same. Long mandarin collared tunic jacket that went to his knees, long waistcoat, everything in black – except the threading on his clothing was dark red and gold. He also wore his hat and dark glasses from earlier. Magellan removed her glasses and stowed them in an inner pocket of her jacket. She then bowed to the group. Kon Pan-Tse bowed along with her, but made no move to remove his hat, mask or glasses.

'Torchwood,' Magellan and Kon Pan-Tse said in greeting.

'Why are you here now?' Gwen asked; her voice tight and angry. It hadn't been a year since The Miracle Days…only a few short months since her father's ultimate death.

'We are attempting containment of temporal damage,' Kon Pan-Tse began.

'Correction: he was,' Magellan added. 'I've been here documenting the disturbance since it began. I am The Photographer.'

'Why?' Jack asked. 'I mean…what temporal damage has it done?'

'Even after The Miracle was stopped, its mere existence has caused much damage,' Kon Pan-Tse continued. 'And yet there was no mention of this ever occurring in Human History.'

'So the pictures…are what? A visual record of what happened?' Rex asked.

'Yes,' Magellan answered, nodding. 'We need to make sure if this was to have happened at all. It has helped to create far too many splinter universes…we fear the whole of time and space may be damaged beyond even the TimeLord's intervention.'

'The Families have given up on extending life spans of humans on Earth,' Kon Pan-Tse continued. 'Instead, they are attempting changes in the TimeLines themselves.'

Jack looked to Rex and Gwen in absolute horror. 'Can you confirm that?' he asked.

'It has all ready happened in a section of time going back to the 1890's,' Kon Pan-Tse said, his metallic voice going hard. 'The original timeline could not be rescued, so a splinter universe had to be grafted onto the loose ends of the original in order to ensure the integrity of the whole. The Plan B The Families plan on executing must be stopped at all costs. 'We have been able to neutralize some of them, but they operate almost as independent terror cells…and that is how you must present them to the world.'

'Why?' Gwen asked.

'Because,' Magellan continued. 'If we don't stop them, destroy them and wipe them off the face of existence; in their bid for immortality they will destroy the universe.' She took a deep breath then. 'This isn't a fight for just Earth or humans, lady and gentlemen. This is for ALL the marbles.'

o0o TWTWTW o0o

Rhys Williams was surprised at having two more guests for tea – especially since they hadn't come through the front door like everyone else. But – he always made extra and was willing to extend Terran Goodwill by way of hearty cuisine.

The man – Kon Pan-Tse, the others said – was a bit strange with the fedora hat, metal plate that covered half his face and glasses that he refused to take off. He was silent and accepted the food given to him only a nod, but Rhys couldn't shake the bizarre sense of déjà-vu he felt around him.

The woman, Magellan…well. She was polite and well mannered, but there was something a bit off about her as well. The continual smirk that was perched on her lips didn't help either. But dinner was eaten in companionable silence and Rhys brought out a cake for pudding while Gwen cleared the table of the dinner dishes.

'Have…have you two a place to stay?' Jack asked as Rhys began cutting the cake.

'No,' Magellan answered. 'But we are not without resources within this timeframe.'

Jack then turned to Kon Pan-Tse. 'Fiftieth century?' he asked. The bit of the man's left side lips that showed beneath his gear quirked into a smile.

'Among other time,' he answered cryptically.

'But you're not a Time Agent?' Jack asked.

Kon Pan-Tse and Magellan snorted at that. 'No,' the metallic voice said slowly. 'We are something much more then that.'

'I don't believe it,' he answered quickly.

'And yet, here we are before you,' Magellan added. He turned to Pan-Tse. 'Haven't we already had this conversation?' she asked.

'Doesn't mean a damn thing,' Jack fired back. He then stared into Pan-Tse's dark glasses. 'Why do I feel like I know you?' he asked, looking at the impassive visage the metallic partial facemask presented. And then – it clicked into place. 'Perception filter!' Jack yelled, jumping up so fast his chair clattered against the wall behind him noisily. Gwen and Rex had their handguns out and Rhys had pulled out a shotgun, pointing it warily at them.

Magellan and Kon Pan-Tse began laughing then. 'Told you you should have stayed,' Magellan crowed.

'I can explain,' Pan-Tse began. 'Or perhaps it is better if I simply show you.' With that his hand went up to his hat and pulled it off, revealing curly dark hair. Jack sat down hard on the edge of his chair.

The partial metallic faceplate was pulled down, revealing pale skin – and an angry scar on the right cheek. Gwen's gun hand dropped and the other covered her mouth.

The dark sunglasses came off, revealing sky blue eyes. And finally Rhys gasped, lowering his own weapon.

'What the HELL is going?!' Rex yelled. 'Who the hell is he?!' he asked, gesturing with his gun towards the seemingly young man seated before him.

'Hello, Mr. Matheson,' the young man with a soft Welsh accented voice said, holding out his hand. 'My name was once Ianto Jones…and I believe that we have never met.'


End file.
